I know, it's a pretty obscure phenomenon to be discussing in a zen forum, but I can't think of a better place for it.

In this case, I'm not actually having the same dream, per se. What I am experiencing is actually a recurring theme. Three times in the last four days (that I can remember), I have had dreams where I found myself responsible for the lives of a small group of children. In each dream, there is some sort of invasion going on and I find myself in the midst of it, trying to get these kids to safety.

Usually the situation was desperate and I believe that I failed to protect them in two or all of the dreams, but I can't remember the end very well. In every case I've found myself resorting to violence at the end, but it's always too little too late to save the children from the soldiers who are invariably storming our safehouse.

In the end I always wake up emotionally drained and consequently very tired for the remainder of the day. I can still remember all three dreams with a great deal of clarity, which suggests to me that they were very vivid.

Anyone care to psychoanalyze me based on this? Personally, I believe that dreams can tell us a lot about the inner workings of our minds. But then, that's always up for debate. I'm trying to puzzle out a meaning, but hey, there's always a chance that I'm jumping at shadows.

One other question, has anyone else ever experienced something like this?

No, I wouldn't care to analyze this, but I always find that dreams that usually stand out like this mean that you are working through some issue. The symbols in the dream are representative of the problem that you are trying to solve. And have you been reading Catcher in the Rye lately?

When I was much younger, I used to have recurring dreams where I was in a kind of war-zone. I was never in the army. The war-zone I am talkng about is not the modern kind; it was more the old type where no firearms were used. It was really frightening where I needed to run from my "enemies" (not too sure who there were) and I was not sure whether I was actually killed because it kind of ended halfway through when I woke up. There are gone now.

There are as many explanations as there are dream-interpretors.

In your case, a "SSS" (Sylvestor Stallone Syndrome) perhaps

The explanation I most like to believe is the "quantum-mind slipping into a quantum parallel universe" when your conscious mind is asleep and the sub/un conscious mind awakens and tap into this parallel universe where there is a duplicate 'you' living almost similar or even contradictory lives.

'Ghosts or other apparitions or even UFOs' are also taken to be these duplicate beings from this parallel universe dreaming their way into our universe. So "we" are also the ghosts/UFOs in their universe.

Another one is where you are re-living previous lives in your dreams when these previous lives are embedded into your present psychic memory at the moment of your conception when your eternal soul finds a new temporary home.

A "trick" which is worth trying is tying a coloured string round a finger before going to sleep and when the dream occurs, will yourself to look at that string; if you see that string, well, you just take it from there and see what happens. The danger is you may get trapped in that dream in the sense that you "awakens" in the dream itself and finding your way back into the 'real' awaken state that you stated off with. I suppose you will then have to fall asleep in that dream and try to awaken again "here"

If you can do this at will, wow, you probably can conquer time and space itself!

Who really knows? Maybe HE does, but HE is not talking, at least not to me.

A question -- do animals, insects, fish dream? They all have brains / minds, so why not?

did you contribute to the recent thread "How many five year olds can you take on at once?"...If you did (or even thought about it), perhaps the dreams are guilt from that experience?

I have no thoughts on dream interpretation other than on my own dreams. sorry. my best guess: The main theme of your dream is responsibility...take a look at the responsibilities in your life, are you giving enough attention to them?

Quote: Three times in the last four days (that I can remember), I have had dreams where I found myself responsible for the lives of a small group of children. In each dream, there is some sort of invasion going on and I find myself in the midst of it, trying to get these kids to safety.

I think it may be a heady combination of cheese eaten near bed time, and the new War of The Worlds movie trailer that is the problem here.

Seriously, sounds like a representation of fear of responsibility due to lack of self confidence. Try having a mental image of you kicking the soldiers tails with an AK47 as you drift off, the positive reinforcement may give you a better outcome, and subsequent better nights sleep.

Aside from the more universal symbolism that we all share through the process of enculturation/socialization, we each 'create' our own dream language. The symbolism, if there is any, is individual. You should start a log of dreams, write everything (objects as well as events, emotions noted in the dreams, etc.).

FG, .One common paradigm for looking at dreams is to consider all of the roles or characters. In doing so think of each characher as and aspect of yourself. You the Soldier, You the Child, You the Defender. Dreams can be very unsettling. Just as in meditation disturbing images can come up. In meditation you just let them come and go and observe them. At different times in my life I v'e had very disturbing dreams. I wouldn't care to have some of them again but I feel that they can be a valuable part of psychological processing.

Quote:Have you had any type of situations recently dealing with young children? Whether the be relatives, other students at school, church group...anything. Have you been in a confrontation recently?

That's all I got for now.

No real confrontations lately. Suffice to say, the only noticeable trait of my life that has changed from the norm is a moderate depression for about four-five months now. By moderate I mean not debilitating, but I do blame it partly for failing a class (possibly two soon) at school for the first time.

I have been around children a lot more than usual. We just had a sort of family reunion Sunday. Problem is, the dreams started before that.

Quote:No, I wouldn't care to analyze this, but I always find that dreams that usually stand out like this mean that you are working through some issue. The symbols in the dream are representative of the problem that you are trying to solve. And have you been reading Catcher in the Rye lately?

-B

I wish, I've heard it's quite good. That post was kinda what I meant by psychoanalyze, I suppose that was a misnomer on my part.

Quote:A "trick" which is worth trying is tying a coloured string round a finger before going to sleep and when the dream occurs, will yourself to look at that string; if you see that string, well, you just take it from there and see what happens. The danger is you may get trapped in that dream in the sense that you "awakens" in the dream itself and finding your way back into the 'real' awaken state that you stated off with. I suppose you will then have to fall asleep in that dream and try to awaken again "here"

BFP, try googling "lucid dreaming". You might find it interesting.

Quote:If you can do this at will, wow, you probably can conquer time and space itself!

I already control time and space. Bow to me!

Quote:Who really knows? Maybe HE does, but HE is not talking, at least not to me.

Of course not. HE sits on my shoulder in the form of a leprechaun and tells me what to do . How could you hear HIM from here?

It's my personal opinion that only humans can be irrational. That's what dreams are, images we put to irrational stimuli from our unconscious.

Quote:I think it may be a heady combination of cheese eaten near bed time, and the new War of The Worlds movie trailer that is the problem here.

I do love cheddar cheese...

Quote:Seriously, sounds like a representation of fear of responsibility due to lack of self confidence. Try having a mental image of you kicking the soldiers tails with an AK47 as you drift off, the positive reinforcement may give you a better outcome, and subsequent better nights sleep.

While it pains me as an intellectual to say so, I've actually tried this sort of thing. I can attest that it has never worked to my knowledge.

Quote:FG, .One common paradigm for looking at dreams is to consider all of the roles or characters. In doing so think of each characher as and aspect of yourself. You the Soldier, You the Child, You the Defender. Dreams can be very unsettling. Just as in meditation disturbing images can come up. In meditation you just let them come and go and observe them. At different times in my life I v'e had very disturbing dreams. I wouldn't care to have some of them again but I feel that they can be a valuable part of psychological processing.

I agree, I think that I can learn something from these dreams. I had never thought of each character embodying a different part of me, I'll tinker with that idea for a while. Does that explain why nightmares are so horrifying to us, perhaps because they are so revealing?

Thanks for the replies, all. It's given me something to think about, and Lord knows my brain needs the excercise.

In our dreams we see our hidden desires,answers, deepest fears,wishes or something that happend before. The only problem with them is that they are all symbolic. For instance, if you`re runing from someone it means you love him. ?!